The School of Natural Resources & Environment gathered experts and advocates for a conference this month to lay the groundwork toward developing policies to improve environmental quality around Michigan K-12 schools.

SNRE Professor Paul Mohai, a noted scientist on environmental justice and the health-related aspects of school locations, co-organized the “Conference on Environmental Quality, Schools, and Health.” Byoung-Suk Kweon, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources and a frequent collaborator with Mohai, co-organized the conference.

Attendees included David Fukuzawa of the Kresge Foundation, which funded the conference; Michigan State Sen. Coleman Young (D-1^st District); Lois Gibbs of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice; Steve Fischbach of Rhode Island Legal Services; Peter Morman, an environmental policy analyst for the Michigan House of Representatives; as well as other policy experts, scientists, and stakeholders.

Other University of Michigan faculty and students participating were Stuart Batterman, a professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health (SPH); Michael R. Elliott, a professor in the SPH Department of Biostatistics; and doctoral student Mozhgon Rajaee, also of Department of Environmental Health Sciences.

The May 10-11 event at the Dana Building, home to SNRE, brought together about 35 stakeholders to discuss what can be done to raise visibility and create policy around the issue, Mohai said. Attendees plan to meet in a few months to take next steps toward developing policy questions.